The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that information about the federal government’s post-9/11 torture program at CIA “black sites” is protected by the “state secrets privilege,” a doctrine that allows the government to withhold information in litigation when disclosing it would compromise national security. The fractured decision in United States v. Zubaydah, written by Justice… Read More
Fractured majority allows government to withhold information on torture at CIA black sites
Justices allow Kentucky’s attorney general to take over legal defense of state’s abortion law
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Kentucky’s attorney general should have been allowed to intervene to defend a state law restricting abortion after another state official declined to do so – even when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit had already struck down the law. The 8-1 decision in Cameron v…. Read More
Jackson submits Senate Judiciary questionnaire, prepares to start meeting with senators
Just four days after President Joe Biden nominated her to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson submitted her responses to a questionnaire that the Senate Judiciary Committee will use as it considers her nomination. Her responses repeat many of the details in the questionnaire that she submitted in 2021 when she was nominated… Read More
In climate-change case, justices grapple with EPA’s role, congressional intent, and their own jurisdiction
For two hours on Monday, the justices probed the extent of the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases in a case with high stakes for the Biden administration’s plans to slow climate change. By the end of the oral argument, there were no clear indications about how the court is likely to rule…. Read More
Justices will hear free-speech claim from website designer who opposes same-sex marriage
Nearly four years after the Supreme Court declined to decide whether compelling a Colorado baker to bake a cake for same-sex couples would violate his right to freedom of speech, the justices agreed to take up a similar question in another case from Colorado, this time involving a website designer. The justices’ decision to grant… Read More
Justices agree to review Biden’s attempt to unwind Trump-era asylum policy
The Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to decide whether the Biden administration must continue to enforce the Trump-era program known as the “remain in Mexico” policy, which requires asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while they wait for a hearing in U.S. immigration court. The justices fast-tracked the administration’s appeal, setting the case for… Read More
Profile of a potential nominee: J. Michelle Childs
In 2020, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina made a key endorsement, backing then-candidate Joe Biden in the state’s Democratic primary. Less than two years later, Clyburn has made another major endorsement, urging Biden to nominate Judge J. Michelle Childs, a federal trial judge in South Carolina, to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer when he retires…. Read More
Court sets quiet March argument calendar
The Supreme Court ended a week of momentous news on a much more low-key note, releasing on Friday afternoon the argument calendar for the justices’ March arguments. The court will hear eight hours of oral arguments over six days, on topics ranging from arbitration to international child-custody law. Here is the full list of cases… Read More
Profile of a potential nominee: Leondra Kruger
During a 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate, then-candidate Joe Biden pledged that, if elected, he would nominate a Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. With Justice Stephen Breyer expected to retire at the end of this term, California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger is one of the frontrunners to succeed him. If… Read More
Justices will review scope of McGirt decision, but won’t consider whether to overturn it
Less than two years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in McGirt v. Oklahoma by a vote of 5-4 that a large portion of eastern Oklahoma, which was reserved for the Creek Nation in the 19th century, remains a reservation for purposes of a federal law that gives the federal government sole power to try certain… Read More